A coolant fluid flows through a loop of this type. To this end the loop essentially comprises a compressor, a condenser (or a gas cooler), an internal heat exchanger, an expander and an evaporator, together with connecting channels between these components. The internal heat exchanger transfers heat between high-pressure and low-pressure parts of the loop, in order to improve the performance of the thermodynamic cycle (cooling power and energy efficiency).
To be more precise, the high-pressure coolant fluid coming from the compressor is cooled in the condenser, then enters a first part of the internal exchanger, and is then expanded by the expander. The low-pressure fluid obtained in this way at the outlet of the expander passes through the evaporator and then into a second part of the internal exchanger before returning to the compressor.
The internal heat exchanger generally includes a circulation channel through which a fluid flows, provided with a low-pressure fluid inlet orifice, a low-pressure fluid outlet orifice, a high-pressure fluid outlet orifice and a high-pressure fluid inlet orifice. The exchanger is thus mounted at the outlet of two of the components of the air conditioning loop: on the one hand the condenser and on the other the evaporator, with the object of cooling the high-pressure coolant fluid leaving the condenser by means of the low-pressure fluid leaving the evaporator.
In order to provide the connection between the exchanger and the aforementioned components of the air conditioning loop, a connection device is used provided with an inlet channel and an outlet channel intended to receive the low-pressure and high-pressure fluids, respectively, these channels being arranged so that, when the connection device is integrated into the air conditioning loop, they substantially face the inlet and outlet orifices of the exchanger, like the orifices of the condenser and the evaporator.
Such a connection device has the drawback of being monolithic, i.e. formed in one piece. Now, as a function of the air conditioning loop concerned, the various orifices (of the heat exchanger and the other components) to which the connection device is connected have different configurations. In particular, although the circulation channels of the exchanger generally have a standard shape, this does not apply to the orifices of the other components.
It follows that for a given configuration the whole of the prior art connection device must be adapted. In other words, this device does not allow a certain level of standardization, which cannot be satisfactory, notably in terms of fabrication costs.
Moreover, a prior art connection device is machined from a single block of aluminum, of great thickness, which is a major drawback in terms of weight in an automobile vehicle.